This text focuses on a specific area of contemporary child welfare; that of children's paid work and labour. It provides a cross-cultural examination of children's productive activities, their relationship to children's broader social lives, and their implications for the child's education, welfare and well-being. The contributors look at the situation both in the United Kingdom and overseas. They discuss: the conflicts between schooling, education and work in the UK; child poverty; what motivates a child to work; young carers, children with responsibilities; children from ethnic minorities; the work and labour of children in industrialized countries; and the situation in the USA, Denmark, Germany and Russia.